Getting tested for hepatitis C virus (HCV) was associated with reduced drug use, especially among those who tested positive, but evenpeople who tested negative saw some reduction, according to study results presented at the AASLD Liver Meeting in October in Washington, DC.

While epidemiologists and public health experts are excited about the potential of new hepatitis C drugs to limit onward transmission of the virus among people who inject drugs, some strategies ignore profound barriers to drug users engaging with healthcare and their broader needs. For "treatment as prevention" to be ethical and acceptable to this people who inject drugs, enabling treatment and policy environments need to be created, according to reports at the 24th International Harm Reduction Conference last month in Kuala Lumpur.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has released new guidance regarding use of federal funds to pay for many aspects of syringe service programs aimed at reducing the risk of HIV and viral hepatitis transmission among people who inject drugs. The guidance follows a change in federal law that lifts the overall ban on syringe service funding, although the new rules do not allow programs to pay for needles or syringes themselves.

A series of pilot projects in China, Indonesia, and Cambodia are showing that non-coercive, community-based drug treatment projects are feasible and more effective than the current approach of many Asian countries, incarceration and compulsory treatment, according to findings presented at the 24th International Harm Reduction Conference last month in Kuala Lumpur and in a report launched at the conference.